Smokescreen
by What'sYourFavouriteScaryMovie
Summary: The warden of the Boiling Rock had been bragging all his life about how the prison was impossible to escape. Zuko and his new situation have to disagree. ZukoxOC/Slight AU
1. Prison Break

**Story: **Smokescreen

**Pairing:** ZukoxOC

**Rating: **T, could be M in the future.

**Genre: **Action/Survival/Romance

I can't believe I actually did this! Hah, well, this idea has been in my head for the longest time (like, years actually) and with Legend of Korra's season finale coming up (I am Ikki!mad about the last episode), I figured I would need something to satisfy my bryke cravings, haha. Um, well, this is kind of a "prologue but not" to my upcoming story, Smokescreen. It takes place after the Boiling Rock, so, please completely disregard the rest of Book 3. :)_**Also, this was intentionally a Zutara story, but I actually couldn't find a way to fit Katara into the BoilingRock!Episode. Hopefully, my OC isn't too much of a Sue.**_

* * *

...

Even though he was the type of person who never actually thought things through, and grudgingly believed that good things would come to those who waited, Sokka considered this plan to be a success. Every single prisoner in the Boiling Rock was out in the yard, to the Warden's irritation and confusion, despite being in the middle of a lockdown. Whether he liked it or not, Sokka's philosophy was about to be proven true.

Even if Sokka did wind up posing as a guard in a maximum security prison, pacing in the yard awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend and father, all the while praying for this escape to be over… Where in the entire Fire Nation _was_ Zuko? It had been _more _than an hour since he'd told everyone to meet in the yard. Ignoring his irritation at the firebender's tardiness, Sokka stopped pacing, and ran to his father.

"This is it, we have to start a riot!" he said.

"Okay," Suki stated, "but how do we do that?"

The two teenagers looked up at Sokka's father. Hakoda silently observed the crowd of prisoners, "I'll show you," he said, smirking. He walked towards a throng of inmates, and immediately shoved the largest one—a scarred, muscular bald man.

However, contrary as to what one would expect, it didn't play out as planned. The bald man turned around with a hurt look on his face,

"What'd you do that for?" he asked, looking as if he might cry, "That hurt my feelings!"

"Aren't you mad at me?" Hakoda asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Er," the Neanderthal uttered, "Normally I would be, but I've been learning to control my anger."

Sokka's jaw dropped as his father returned back to him, "Well, this isn't working." Sokka was about to attempt to start a riot himself, but suddenly, a strong hand clamped down painfully on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Chit Sang, the tall, muscular inmate that had been involved in the last escape attempt, and groaned inwardly.

"Hey, you!" Chit Sang growled, "You're lucky I didn't rat you out. But, my generosity comes with a price," the tall man removed his hand from Sokka's shoulder and clenched his fists, "I know you're planning another escape attempt, and I want in."

"Actually," Sokka turned towards Chit Sang, "We're trying to escape right now! But we need a riot. You wouldn't happen to know how to start one, would you?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at the older man.

"A prison riot?" Chit Sang asked, "Please." He smirked, and brushed past Sokka, grabbing a smaller, gray haired inmate by the shirt collar as he did so. He hefted the man horizontally above his head and began to toss him up and down; "Hey!" he addressed the large crowd of prisoners, who were all watching him with rapt attention, "Riot!"

The reaction was astounding. Like magic, the entire prison yard was suddenly transformed into a minefield of shouting men and women, firebending gone buck wild, and flailing limbs.

Sokka could only watch in awe.

* * *

…

From the opposite end of the prison yard where Zuko stood near what looked like an Agni Kai between two inmates, the exiled prince attempted to make his way to the spot where he thought he had spotted a familiar looking guard, and a pair of also familiar looking inmates. He sprinted several yards, dodging fire and blows alike. Dropping to his knees and sliding under a pair of brawling prisoners, he inhaled a cloud of dust and smoke. Coughing, eyes watering, he scanned the entire prison yard, hoping to catch sight of Sokka again. He was in luck. He had reached the quieter part of the prison yard now, Sokka, Hakoda, and Suki were close, only a few yards away. Zuko thought he was home free, when suddenly, someone kicked his legs from underneath him, sending him sprawling face up in the dirt. A small foot pinned him to the ground. Zuko looked up at the inmates face. She looked familiar, but it was difficult to make out any of her features.

"Take that, you ugly motherf—"she seemed to be in the middle of saying when she, stopped dead in the middle of her sentence. "Zuko?" she asked, removing her foot from his chest and offering her hand in exchange, "What are you doing here?"

He took it, pulling himself to his feet quickly; there was no doubt about it, now that he clearly saw her face. Sure, the hair might've been longer, and her voice a bit deeper, but there was no question about her identity anymore.

"Sian?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she nodded, gripping his hand, "Yeah, it's me…." She trailed off, tucking her hair behind her ear, "Wow, um, this was unexpected. Why are you even here?"

"I'll explain later," Zuko said, as he started off towards Sokka's direction again, with Sian following in his wake, "We're trying to escape." He managed to catch up with Sokka and company, but before he actually made his presence known, he turned back to the girl following him, his expression hardening and becoming stone cold. "Oh, and Sian? Nothing's changed." And with that, he turned on his heel and made his way to Sokka.

…

* * *

**AN:** Reviews are alwaysalwaysalways appreciated! The next chapter should be posted by the end of tonight, considering this one was a sorry excuse for one :P Also, I'd actually love to hear about what y'all thought of Sian... -chews off manicure-

Alright:)

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**Coming up next:**

**_On the Gondola_  
**

Azula, an explosion and a new location.


	2. On the Gondola

**Story: **Smokescreen

**Pairing: **ZukoxOC

**Rating: **T, possibly M

**Genre:** Adventure/Survival/Romance

Well, here's the new chapter :) hopefully, it makes up for the other one :/. Oh well, you get to see a bit more of Sian's personality in this chapter, and I hope she's not a Sue...

Oh well, enjoy.

* * *

…

"They're about to cut the line!" shrieked Ty Lee, from her perch on top of the gondola, as she looked down at the prison only to see a reflective blade sawing through the thick cable that functioned as the gondola's line. The brunette's usually cheerful face was tight with agitation, and panic laced her voice.

However, Azula remained calm and collected in the face of pressure. "Then it's time to leave." She said calmly, as she fixed her gaze on an incoming gondola. Unfortunately, before she took her own suggestion, she grabbed her brother by the collar and leapt off the gondola, trailing blue fire after her, with Ty Lee quickly following her.

Coincidentally, Sian found herself looking out of the gondola window, to see an unconscious Zuko, Azula and Ty Lee on a passing gondola.

So, acting rashly as she usually did, she swung herself out of the window and sailed through the air, wind whistling through her ears as she landed lightly on the gondola and grabbed the back of Zuko's shirt in one fluid motion.

Winded from the previous fight, Sian turned to spring back onto the other gondola…

…Just as Ty Lee leaped in front of her and hit her repeatedly in every single appendage, finishing off with the head.

And a pair of handcuffs encased one of Sian and Zuko's hands, linking them together.

Ty Lee and Azula loomed over the unconscious pair.

"What do you think we should do with them, Princess?"

"Put them on a raft to die. Somewhere where they will have no chance of survival, and where I will never have to see either of their faces again."

* * *

…

As Zuko eventually regained consciousness, the first thing that he noticed was that the ground was exceptionally shiny….and unstable. And wet, accompanied by a strange bobbing sensation.

They were on a boat.

As memories of his last few conscious moments came back to him, he became aware of a heavy weight on his chest, a feeling of confinement around his right wrist, and two arms bent at an awkward, albeit painful angle.

Glossy, long black hair and pale skin turning an angry red from the sun beating down on them.

And nothing. Absolutely _nothing_ around them for miles but slowly moving ocean water.

Wonderful.

* * *

…

And Zuko thought joining Team Avatar was awkward and uncomfortable. What, with the reaction he received from many of the members, especially a certain female waterbender? But, this situation was much worse. And with a lower chance of survival. He glanced down at the girl resting, unconscious on top of him. He had to admit, they weren't in the most comfortable position. The small raft type structure was more like a floating rectangle with a small sail, and they were packed in like pickled sardine-tunas. He was bent in a 90 degree angle with his arm yanked upward and twisted behind his head, and Sian's body slung horizontally over his torso. Zuko's gold eyes scanned the boat. No water. No supplies. Nothing. He couldn't move without threatening to snap both of their arms off, her body temperature was sky high, and all of a sudden, he became aware of a dry patch on his tongue that refused to moisten, and how hot it _really_ was. Ironic though, a firebender getting annoyed by the Sun. Zuko considered drowning himself.

_Oh well_, he thought to himself. _At least she's quiet._

Of course, the universe wouldn't even let that last.

"Would you like to explain what's going on?" Sian rasped from her place on top of him. She twisted her body this way and that until pain shot up her arm, "And why are we cuffed?" she asked.

_Speak of the devil. _

"Just don't move, we can melt the cuffs, and then we'll be able to sort this out." Zuko growled from somewhere under her, as he did the exact opposite of what he had suggested.

"Are you crazy?" Sian asked, "Melt the cuffs, and risk those burns?"

"Yes, risk the burns! What, would you rather stay like this forever? If you're willing to put up with a few scars, we can maybe live to see another day!"

She sighed through her nose, exasperated, and her temperature began to rise, getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and—

"Are you kidding me?" he shouted in her ear, "Are you seriously doing that on purpose?"

She flinched, "Doing what on purpose?" she asked innocently, "And could you please stop yelling?"

Oh yes. Drowning was certainly an option.

* * *

…

After _carefully_ wiggling around for about an hour, the two firebenders managed to get into a position in which they were sitting somewhat comfortably side by side, attempting to melt the chain holding the cuffs together. Sweat dripped down both of their bodies, pooling in the hollows of their collar bones, dripping from the tips of their noses, and staining the prison garb they were still wearing, as they both kept a continuous stream of fire directed at the middle of the chain, which was just beginning to glow yellow with heat. They were both too cranky and tired to complain about anything, the weather, the boat, their situation, or even each other. After a good twenty minutes, the chain links were sufficiently blue, and radiating with heat.

"Count of three," Zuko said, and Sian nodded grimly.

"One," he said, inching closer to the water.

"Two."

"Three." Both benders yanked their arms apart, successfully breaking the chain, and avoiding their skin. They submerged their arms in the cool salt water surrounding them, and hurriedly moved to opposite corners of the vessel.

Zuko chuckled, "I don't understand what you were so afraid of."

"I thought you were going to pull the dumbass route—you know, melt the actual _cuffs_ instead of the chain." She answered back, as she lay back on the floor of the boat. She crossed her ankles, "What now?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he retorted back, looking over his shoulder at Sian, who had successfully covered every inch of her already sun burnt body with prison garb. Agni did _not_ intend for Fire Nation kids to play in the sun. He ought to do the same.

"Well I _assume_ you have a plan," she said, her voice edged with something. Sarcasm or cruelty, Zuko couldn't tell.

Rather than panicking, Zuko's hardwired survival skills kicked in. Food. Shelter. _Water._ "Obviously we can't sit here and float forever. So I say we get off on the nearest bit of land we see. Find some food. A place to stay. Water. Then, we try to find our way back."

_Or at least I do._

Secretly, he was contemplating leaving her in the first poverty stricken, run down town they encountered.

The only bright side of this situation was that the sun was going down, and the temperature was going down.

_Way_ down, apparently.

In a matter of a few hours, they were both sitting back to back, huddled around the small fires that they had cupped in their palms. They weren't _that _desperate in which they would even consider holding each other for warmth.

* * *

…

_Where the hell are we_, Sian thought, _the poles_? Her teeth chattered and her fire grew dangerously low. _Dammit, I've always been bad in cold weather._ She gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering, but obviously, her body just had to be making noises at all times. Her stomach rumbled. Loud. Loud enough that Zuko elbowed her in the back.

He mumbled something that sounded uncannily similar to, "I can't do this," and exhaled hard.

"Yeah, yeah," she said, "I'm going to sleep."

"Pity." Zuko said flatly.

Sometimes Sian really _hated _sarcasm.

* * *

**AN:** Yeeeee, lots of timeskippy type things. Well, I did get a few reviews on the last chapter, and that's actually what made me post this one lol, anyway, if y'all have any questions about the story/anything, don't hesitate to drop me a PM or a review :)

I love reviews. Love. Them.

Alright :)

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**COMING UP NEXT: **

**Land Ho! excerpt: **

_"Shh," he murmured, pulling her closer to him, rubbing soft, slow circles on her back, "You'll be fine, we'll be fine...everything will be fine."  
The wind sent an icy gust throughout the cave, playing a haunting melody on the trees outside. The moon and stars shone down in the sky, twinkling innocently,  
they seemed to laugh at the misfortune of the pair below them.  
"It was so awful," she said, clutching at his shirt, "So awful. I was so terrified."  
"What would you do?" he asked, "What would you do if you were put through that same situation again?"  
She pulled away from him, her golden eyes flashing in the moonlight, and fixing on his,"I don't know."_


	3. Land Ho!

**Story:**Smokescreen

**Pairing:** ZukoxOC

**Genre:** Action/Survival/Romance

**Rating:** T-M

Okay, so yay, next chapter. Thanks for the reviews, y'all :) Also, I did some research on Sian's name (cuz I found it off of twitter) and apparently it's pronnounced like Shawn, which is great in my opinion for some reason...

**BlackAngel91797: **So, what happened to Sokka's gang was that they went back to the air temple, yada yada, and you'll see what they do to get Zuko back later :) thanks for your review c;

* * *

…

Sian was used to the hot temperatures, and humidity of the Fire Nation, and its islands. This was something else entirely. After about a day of drifting, she and Zuko had washed up on a rough and leafy terrain, surrounded by craggy and rocky beaches that ruined their little raft. The rocky shore lead into a huge forest, filled with tall trees and shrubbery that neither of the benders recognized. Sian sighed loudly, causing a few stands of unwashed hair to flutter up from her face, as she poked around in the shallows with her bare finger halfheartedly, hoping to stir up some shellfish, or anything edible from her perch on a particularly low rock, on the ugly shore. However, the only thing she managed to stir up was sediments. She dug deeper into the chilly saltwater, coating her finger with mud entirely. Her oh-I'm-so-independent male counterpart had vanished into the forest, to "explore", leaving her to hunt for food, like a certified male. _Oh well, _she thought; _guess that's what happens when there are no real men around._ Sian pulled her finger from the murky water and dried it on her thin, prison issued pants, leaving a muddy skid mark.

Lovely.

Oh well. Like another stain would make a difference. A crisp wind blew through the air, rustling the leaves on the trees and causing her to shiver slightly. _Now who's skewed up version of summer is this?_ She thought to herself. Her thin clothes and the overcast weather weren't helping either. She rolled her eyes. And she was _thirsty_.

Just as she was about to nod off, something sharp pegged her in the back. She immediately stood and whirled around to face her attacker, when she saw what hit her. Laying there on a flat rock a few feet away was a single nut, still encased in its shell. And a few more feet away, stood Zuko, scowling, holding a handful of the same nuts. He strode over to where she was standing and took a seat, placing the nuts in front of him, and cracking one open with his fist.

Scary.

Sian bent down and picked up the nut that he had tossed at her, examining it closely. It resembled a walnut, but with a much thinner shell. _Huh_, she thought as she hefted it. _I've never seen these before. _She sat down opposing him and cracked the thing open.

"I take it you didn't find anything either," Zuko said, his voice sounding slightly raspier than usual.

"Not a thing," Sian said, inspecting the nut more closely, "Are you _sure_ these are safe?" She honestly wouldn't put it below him to poison her, and leave her body to decay in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm eating them, aren't I?" he glared at her, and roasted his nut with a steady bit of fire before popping it into his mouth.

Sian did the same. It tasted awful, and she winced. Prison food would be an improvement. She stuck her hand into her shirt, ignoring the slight bulge of Zuko's eyes, _what was he looking at her for anyway?_ And finally, her fingers brushed against what she was looking for.

_Aha._

She withdrew a slim wooden box and removed one of its contents, sticking it between her lips. A spark jumped between her fingers and she lit it, inhaling the fruity smoke.

"Still sucking those cheap cigarettes?" Zuko asked, bemused.

"Looks like it," she answered, taking a drag, "You still setting fire to inanimate objects?"

"Nah," he answered, popping another one of those Agni-awful nuts in his mouth, talking while he chewed, "I'm trying to grow out of that phase."

She rolled her eyes and exhaled smoke out of her nostrils, watching it curl in the light of the setting sun.

"You shouldn't do that. You know, smoking."

Sian flicked her eyes towards Zuko. His were almost luminous in the low light. "Relax, Zuko. They're tea leaves."

"You were in prison. How'd you even _get_ those?" he shook his head, a smirk etching its way onto his lips, as he lit up a few nutshells, watching them fall from his fingers and extinguish themselves against the bare rock underneath him.

"I played the good inmate image," her mouth twisted, "a guard gave me them. You know, the one who the Warden thought was an imposter."

A flicker of recognition crossed his face, and he was silent after that, amusing himself by setting fire to more nutshells, then extinguishing them, and setting them on fire again. Finally, by the time they were reduced to a black powder, the moon had made its appearance, and Sian had ground out her cigarette and curled up on the ground, half asleep, ignoring the dry patches on her tongue and pounding headache, Zuko broke the silence.

"We're in the middle of back ass nowhere."

Too tired to raise her head from the rock, Sian raised her gold firebender eyes to meet his own, "What?" she asked, "You didn't see anything? No water source, nothing?"

"Not as far as I looked," He pinched the bridge of his nose, and Sian couldn't stop her sleep laced brain from thinking that in the moonlight, he looked older than seventeen. "There's probably much more, since we're probably in the Earth Kingdom, but I didn't see anything useful."

"We'll look again tomorrow," she mumbled sleepily, hearing his words, but not understanding, "It's late at night. The night is _evil_."

And with that, her thoughts closed off, and her mind retreated into the void known as sleep, leaving Zuko staring at her and wondering how a person so formidable could be so damn _weird_.

* * *

…

"You gonna lay there all morning?"

_Shut up._ The girl groaned and covered her eyes, shielding them from the sunlight that seemed adamant in burning through her eyelids.

Something blunt nudged her in the side, "Hellooo?"

_Stop_. She turned over onto her stomach and was hit again with the blunt object.

"_Ugh,_" she groaned loudly, as she staggered to her feet, eyes half shut, as she made out a fuzzy silhouette. _Zuko, _she thought, as she grumbled off towards the water.

Zuko only chuckled as he watched Sian brush past him, mumbling angrily something that sounded suspiciously like, "Stupid idiot's poking me in the side and making noises, and what the hell, the universe _hates_ me." _She never was an early riser_, Zuko thought as he watched her dunk her head into the ocean water and not come back up. Maybe she was trying to drown herself.

She returned a few minutes later with dripping wet hair streaming down her back, and a mouthful of water that she'd apparently been rinsing her mouth out with, that was now deposited all over his shoes, as she spat it in Zuko's general direction.

"That was for waking me up so damn early in the morning. The morning is _evil_." She said crabbily as she sat down and tried to finger-comb the ends of her long hair.

"We're firebenders, Sian, we rise with the _Sun_, remember?" he asked as he stepped out of the puddle she had created, "And I thought you said that the night was evil?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes widening suspiciously, "That too, yeah…" she trailed off.

"So what part of the day _do_ you like, hmm?" He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm, as he picked something out of the tread of his shoe.

She frowned, and her bottom lip jutted out, "Afternoon."

* * *

…

The forest was also evil. The ground was nothing but uneven, with rocks, twigs, and roots, along with fallen logs littered all over the place. Sian and Zuko trekked through, keeping an eye out for any possible threats. Hour after hour of the same boring trees and absolutely no sign of any civilization. Both of the benders' were extremely tired and thirsty.

_Mind over matter, mind over matter,_ Zuko chanted in his head, ignoring the fact that he hadn't had anything to drink for almost 36 hours, and that what little urine he'd been able to pass had been a dark brown.

_This is bullshit, this is bullshit,_ Sian chanted over and over again, silently, as she rubbed the dry patch on her tongue and ignored her pounding headache, nearly tripping over an overly large root.

As the hours inched by, it didn't get any easier.

Especially when Zuko went down.

Sian didn't see it at first, since her eyes were mostly closed, trying to prevent any light from further provoking her headache, but she heard a groan and a loud thump that sent the birds flying, and she saw a faded image of Zuko crumpling to the ground. She rushed over immediately, her heart and head pounding, and saw him face down in the dirt. She sank to her knees beside him and flipped him over. His golden eyes were fluttering, and his lips moving, but no sound was coming out. Sian brushed his hand over his forehead—hot. Hot even for a _firebender_.

"Okay," Sian mumbled to herself as she leant Zuko up against a tree, "Okay, okay, okay, water. Where the hell can I find water in the middle of this dry ass forest? Oh no you don't," she addressed Zuko, as his eyes started to flutter shut, "Don't you dare die, you're my ticket out of here. They're gonna look for you, not me." Her thoughts were racing in her mind, thoughts of ice, and waterbenders, oceans, and rivers. Places where water was _normally_ found. She leapt to her feet, eyes darting, looking for a certain silvery liquid that might appear out of nowhere.

No luck.

She swore again, feeling helpless as she looked down at him. He was still conscious, but barely. His lips were still moving. Wringing the ends of her still wet hair, she rejoiced as a few drops of water appeared in her palm. _Saltwater, _she remembered. Of course. She angrily flicked her hand to the ground.

A thought occurred to her.

_Where there is life, there is water, right?_

Well, she prayed that she was right, as she started beating the tree Zuko was leaning against with a pointed rock. Trees were alive, right? _Oh what I wouldn't give to be a waterbender right now,_ she thought as she inflicted even more damage on the tree, smashing the bark repeatedly, as a result, her headache pounded in rhythm with the rock, until she found wetness on the stone that she withdrew from the trunk. _Suffering Sages, please don't let that be all that's there, _she pleaded, hitting the tree once more.

The spirits must've been smiling on Sian today, because as luck would have it, a thin steady stream of water leaked its way down the trunk. Cupping some of it in her filthy hand, and ignoring her own pounding headache and thirst, she held it to Zuko's dry and chapped lips, praying that he had the strength to drink.

He did.

Lapping up the water in her hand greedily, his eyes started to open a bit more. She filled her hand once more, and held it to his mouth. He drank again. Consciously.

"Thank you, Sian," he uttered quietly. She filled her hand once more, as the pounding in her head started to fade. Zuko drank again, and Sian managed a lopsided, tired sort of grin. And there it was. Her headache was back.

Great.

"You'll be fine, okay?" She murmured, as the pounding in her head reached a crescendo. The last thing she remembered were two golden eyes widening, and a hand catching her head before it hit the ground.

* * *

…

Memories from the other day flashed through Sian's head.

_Right,_ she thought_, _feeling her brow furrow instinctively,_ so it wasn't a dream after all. _

"I know you're awake." a voice said flatly.

Sian opened her eyes, pleased to note that she and Zuko weren't still in that awful part of the forest where the "water incident" had happened. Instead, they were situated underneath a hanging rock ledge, and laying in the dirt like animals. Not like it would make the slightest difference. They had dirt practically worked into their skin anyway. "How?" she asked, pulling herself into a slumped sitting position and turning her head in his direction.

"I've known you long enough to know whether you're asleep or not. You only frown when you're awake." He muttered in the same emotionless voice, fixing his eyes on a spot on the overhanging rock that must have been absolutely fascinating.

"Right, er, well, thanks." She mumbled, "For yesterday."

Zuko nodded curly, and jerked his head towards the darkness outside of their little makeshift cave. "You'll probably be happy to know that there's a village a little while away from here. And a river."

The duo sat in silence for a while, Zuko staring into the fire that he had created, and Sian staring at the moon steadily climbing the sky, and both benders felt the decrease of power that came with the arrival of the moon. The hours crawled by, and Sian dozed off, as she usually did, when there was a lack of activity, and her soft snores provided the only source of noise in the cave.

Zuko looked down at her and a flood of memories came rushing back.

_A Fire-Navy ship with the exiled prince going through his forms, sweat clinging to every limb, while his Uncle and a small, dark haired girl chatted over a pot of tea._

_The Southern Water Tribe, her flanking him as he exited his ship._

_Him climbing up the Crows Nest of his ship to reach the helmsman, and climbing back down to see the look of disgust in her face. _

_The Blue Spirit passing her, while she smirked, and vanished into her room._

_The day she bought a pack of cheap cigarettes, and smoked until she threw up._

_Her long hair chopped short and the look of hate in her eyes as she slapped the Pearl Dagger into his palm._

_Hiding in a cave with him and his Uncle for months._

_When he was sick with an awful fever, and remembered seeing her face along with his Uncles as they nursed him back to health._

_The day she was able to bend lightning, but lost the ability to bend fire._

_The opening of the Jasmine Dragon, and how she despised bussing tables._

_The shade of brown their eyes had turned after being separated from the Fire Nation for so long._

_Fighting the Avatar's waterbender in Ba Sing Se, seeing her and his sister fighting the boy side by side, and feeling the sizzle of electricity in the air radiating from their auras, then the feeling of his sister's overpowering hers completely. _

_The look in her eyes after seeing him and Mai together again._

_The feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw her enter someone's bedroom on Ember Island._

_The Day of Black Sun, when she had chased after him as he was leaving the palace, her screams as the guards thought that she was the traitor, him screaming that he would find her someday, as she was dragged out of sight._

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut as her screams replayed in his head. Her pleading with the guards that she was innocent and the sound of her screaming his name grated on his nerves. It was like re-living the moment over and over again, and how he wished that she was there with him at the Western Air Temple, so he wouldn't have to impersonate his Uncle and Sister to a badger-frog.

The fire had died down, leaving nothing but a pile of glowing embers. Sian stirred, feeling the claws of sleep release her, as she opened her eyes to find that Zuko was still awake.

"Couldn't sleep?" she asked, sitting up next to him, and running a hand through her dirty hair.

He shook his head, and found that he could barely look at her.

"So you want to explain what's going on?" she let the question hang there.

"What do you mean?" he retorted, raising his good eyebrow.

"This whole jerkass loner type thing that you've got going on right now." She stated.

He turned to face her, his eyes glowing softly, like the embers. "Seeing you back there was like everything all over again." He frowned, "It was like re-living the hunt for the Avatar, and Ba Sing Se, and the Day of Black Sun."

"I know." She stated simply, her voice thicker than usual. Zuko turned to look her in the eye. He took notice of the tired slump to her shoulders, the frown lines starting to etch themselves into her forehead, and the lines starting to appear at the corners of her eyes from squinting and scowling so much, when he realized that he probably fared no better. They both looked old. Much, much older than seventeen. Sian pulled another cigarette out, but before she could light it, Zuko had knocked it out of her mouth and was glaring at her intently. He didn't like what the effect of the "tea leaves" or whatever the hell was in those cheap things had on her.

And instead of getting mad at him, or yelling, or knocking him out with a bolt of lightning, Sian did something worse. She cried. Not because he took her cigarette, not because she was stuck with him, but because she was so painfully weak, and so hopeless, and they were in such an awful yet slightly comedic situation that the only alternative situation would be to start laughing, which she was _not_ about to do. So, she cried. Silently. And for the longest time, he just looked at her like she had grown an extra head. And after that minor setback, he pulled her close to him, exactly like he used to when she had thrown up from smoking too much, or when she had lost her firebending. Or like she did, when his sister had come to threaten him, and when he was coming down with that fever.

The wind sent an unwelcome gust throughout the cave, playing a haunting melody on the trees outside. The moon and stars shone down in the sky, twinkling innocently, they seemed to laugh at the misfortune of the pair below them.  
"It was so awful," she mumbled, "What they did in prison. You wouldn't understand what they're capable of."  
"I would, Sian," he said, burying his chin in her hair, "Trust me, I would."  
She pulled away from him, her golden eyes flashing in the moonlight, and fixing on his, "I'm glad it was me."

He pulled her closer, "It'll be fine," he murmured, "We'll be fine, everything will be_ fine_."

Zuko uttered those words with such confidence, that even he started to believe himself.

* * *

**AN: **Well, hopefully y'all liked that! Um, yeah it was like 7 pages, but that's because I like to make unnesseccary paragraphs lol.

ye...reviews are always appreciated. they make me very happy.

Alright:)


	4. The Order of the White Lotus

**Story: **Smokescreen

**Rating:** T-M

**Genre:** Action/Survival(yes I consider this to be a genre)/Romance

**Pairing: **ZukoxOC

**Hiiii everyone!** So this is le new chapter. This is also known as the let me just crawl in a hole and die type chapter. 'tis like a museum exhibit- in Exhibit 1A, you can see Zuko and Sian forced to sleep in the same bed. And in the rubbish bin, you can see the crumpled remains of my pride. Hurr. Durr. Also, at the end, me and my friend came up with a little character interview thing, so if you want to read that, you can. I think it's funny c; but I'm kind of skewed and fucked up... anyway, Gaang in this chapter! And thanks to everyone who reviews and stuff. Also no, this isn't all that Team!Avatar's done to get them back yet. :D hope y'all like!

* * *

…

All was quiet in the Western Air Temple. The dusky light provided by the rising sun tinted the pale bricks on the buildings a faint pink color. Not quite sure as to why she was awake this early in the day, Katara neatly made her bed, and started to perform the menial chores for the day. She passed Toph and Suki's room, finding the latter of the two burrowed into a neat pile of blankets, and the blind earthbender sprawled across the bare floor, as she usually was. Next, she peered into her father and the prisoner Chit Sang's room, almost deafened by the loud snores of both men. Walking further down the hall, Katara checked on Sokka and Teo, finding her brother contorted into a position that required Ty-Lee like flexibility, snoring loudly, and the Mechanist's son dozing peacefully. The Duke and Haru weren't in their rooms; however this was to be expected. They had probably fallen asleep in some unexplored corridor, or secret chamber in the heart of the temple. They'd be back for breakfast. Reaching the main courtyard, the young waterbender noticed Aang curled up on Appa's tail, looking young in his sleep, like the thirteen year old boy he was. Normally Zuko would be there as well, awake and meditating in the early sunlight. But not today. Not for the past two days. Sokka had told the group that Azula had captured both Zuko and_… and oh what was her name_, Katara thought to herself, as she bent water into a pot, _the one who's always shooting off lightning_, _ah, Sian_. The group had tried in vain to send Hawky after them, but there had been no sign of the messenger hawk for a few days.

As far as Katara was concerned, the pair was good as dead. Not that Katara would ever admit it, but Zuko's absence tweaked her nerves a bit. Aang _did_ need to master firebending, after all. And the fact that Zuko was travelling in the company of someone who had been through his past, and probably attributed to a good number of his mistakes _grated_ on them.

* * *

…

"Look at this sunburn," Sian giggled, yes _giggled_ as she rolled up the ragged sleeve of her shirt and shoved her filthy, dual toned arm in Zuko's face, stopping him dead in his tracks, "It's peeling like crazy!" she said as she exploded into a fit of giggles.

"That's rough, buddy." Zuko deadpanned, miraculously keeping a straight face as he pushed past her and let out a sigh of agitation.

"Watch yourself, Crabcake! Yours isn't that much better." She called as she leapt neatly over a fallen log.

For the second time that morning, Zuko stopped dead in his tracks. He slowly turned his head and faced the disgustingly chipper girl behind him who was currently rocking back on her heels. "Where the hell did _Crabcake_ come from?" he asked, "Has the minimal amount of hydration finally gone to your head? Or are you just not used to being out of a prison cell?" Zuko turned back around and kept walking.

"No," she answered, as she trailed after him, "It's 'cause you're not sweet enough to be a Cupcake, and 'cause you're all red, like an urchin-crab!"

He pushed a branch out of his face and trekked on, "It still doesn't explain the scarily good mood!"

"It's just that we're so close to civilization! I can _hear_ the river, Crabcake, and I can practically _see_ that town, not that I know what it looks like, of course…" she trailed off, apparently lost in her own reverie.

Zuko sighed loudly; again, give it half an hour and she'd be back to her usual sarcastic and irritable self. The pair walked in silence for about another hour, Sian humming something that sounded suspiciously like "The Girls of Ba Sing Se" the whole while. The wind had picked up, and carried a pleasant chill with it, rustling the leaves on the trees and making up for the blazing sun above. Finally, the trees started to thin, and the sound of slow moving water became more prominent, and a cool silvery river came into view, along with a bridge that stretched over it and continued into a path.

"Now _this_ is more like it." Zuko said, as the faintest hint of a grin etched itself onto his face.

After gulping down roughly forty-five percent of the river's cool water, and scrubbing the grime off of themselves as best as they could, the two benders tried to piece themselves together by turning up the ragged edges of their prison garb, scrubbing gunk out of their hair and busied themselves with personal troubles. Zuko desperately rearranged his hair, so that it covered his scar, and unfortunately, about half his face as well, all the while ignoring Sian's laughs and taunting remarks about how ridiculous it looked. His female counterpart had managed to find a short but strong stick, and was working on wrapping her tangled hair around it until it resembled a crude imitation of her usual bun. Finally, the pair made their way over the bridge and started following the shoddily paved path. After walking until late in the afternoon, Sian's knees started to hurt, and her natural irritation at everything and anyone threatened to spill over. However, those thoughts were soon wiped away as the outskirts of the village came into view.

She had to give Zuko his props for walking this far to see it. Certainly cleaner, larger and more secluded and well kept than she imagined, the town sprawled across all visible land. And in the distance—were those _mountains_? Apparently. In the center of the town, a long building stood, with a statue of an elderly woman placed in front of it.

"Why do I feel as if we've been here before?" Sian asked, searching for any sign of Fire Nation soldiers.

"Because we have," Zuko said as he made his way into the town, making a 'follow me' gesture over his shoulder. "This was the town with the crazy fortuneteller lady."

"Oh!" she said as she followed him, "You mean the one who told me that I'd live a life of guilt and misfortune, and marry someone with a shaped destiny? Yeah, what a crock of bullshit."

He chuckled, pausing at the door of what looked to be a tavern, "Well, looks like she was right about the guilt and misfortune. Now wait here. I have to take care of something."

She grabbed his shoulder as he started to push open the door, "Oh no you don't. You're not leaving me here when my face is probably on every single wanted poster in this nation."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay, fine, whatever, come with me, and _don't_ say anything."

Sian smirked, and followed him through the door. The tavern, like the town, was much cleaner than she expected, but at the same time, managed to maintain an aura of rowdiness and rebellion. When the two firebenders walked through the door, the bartender, an old balding man looked up from polishing a dusty bottle with a rag, and narrowed his eyes. Zuko led Sian away from the bar, to a quieter corner of the bar where there was an elderly man with white cotton wool hair, seated at a Pai Sho table.

"Are you kidding me?" Sian hissed into Zuko's ear, "A Pai Sho game? You're turning into your uncle!"

"Quiet!" he hissed back as he took the seat across from the man, leaving Sian to stand behind him with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.

"May I have this game?" Zuko asked the man politely. How he managed to completely change his personality in about two seconds, Sian would never understand.

The white haired man inclined his head, "The guest has the first move."

Slipping his hand into his shoe, Zuko fished out a sweaty Pai Sho tile. The White Lotus. Unfortunately, Sian was too busy trying not to gag to notice the design.

"I see you favor the White Lotus Gambit," the man uttered, "Not many still cling to the ancient ways."

"But those who do can always find a friend."

"Then let us play."

There was much slapping down of the Pai Sho tiles, and Sian thought she was slowly losing her mind. Seething at the length of the game, she folded her arms tightly and rocked back and forth on her heels, making a mental note to verbally berate Zuko after making her sit through this. Just as she was about to flip the table over, the placing of the tiles stopped. And a design was revealed. An open lotus.

Fabulous.

"Welcome, brother," the man said, "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."

"What the hell." Sian muttered under her breath.

"My name is Pao," the man said taking a sip of the tea that sat next to him, "And you," Pao said, addressing Zuko, "Are quite lucky to have an uncle who is so high up in our ranks."

Zuko nodded solemnly, "I—we need some help." He jerked his shoulder back at Sian, who bowed her head slightly, in greeting.

"Sian Sakai, nice to, er, meet you, I suppose." She twisted her mouth wryly.

"If you two will follow me," Pao said as he stood from the table and led Zuko and Sian through the maze of tables that littered the inside of the tavern to a storage closet. Leading the two firebenders inside, and closing the door behind him.

What looked like a storage closet apparently wasn't one. Along with the occasional box of alcohol, there were three chairs, a safe and a small table.

"Please, have a seat." Pao said as he strode over to the safe, and unlocked it with a stone key that he had produced from his robes. He returned to the table in front of where Zuko and Sian were seated and placed a small pouch filled with what presumed to be money in Sian's outstretched hand. "This town has been untouched by the Fire Nation from the moment it was established. Hiding you two, who are both wanted fugitives, poses a threat to the safety of Makapu Village, and all its residents. I can persuade the fortuneteller here to turn a blind eye to you two, which in turn will cause the villagers to, but that unfortunately will not last. In the town east from us, there is a pier, with a ship that leaves for the Fire Nation in a week,"

Ignoring the sounds of protest from both teenagers, Pao held up a hand and silenced them, "However, you will have a chance to get a message to whomever you need to before then." Pao reached into his robes and held a scroll out to Zuko who took it gingerly and unrolled it.

_Sifu Hotman,_

_Hope you didn't get captured by Crazy. Where are you? Is the merc with a mouth still with you? _

_Sokka and Aang_

_PS. Toph came up with the nicknames. She says she still needs to get back at you for burning her, so you'd better not be dead._

Zuko grinned slightly at the thought of the look on Sian's face when someone called her a 'merc with a mouth,' and tucked the scroll in his rope belt.

Pao continued, "This money is enough to get you a room in an inn, and some new clothes. Good luck, you two." He led them out of the room and into the tavern. When Zuko turned to thank him, he found that the elderly man had disappeared.

"That," Sian said as she twirled the pouch of coins around one finger, "Was the most boring thing I have ever sat through in my life."

"I told you to wait outside." Zuko said, following her for once as she stepped out of the dark tavern and into the bright sunlight. "I _told_ you."

"Shut up."

* * *

…

Turns out, finding an inn in this little town wasn't the easiest thing. After being turned away from the first two inns with 'what are you trying to pull' looks being shot at them the entire way, the two firebenders found themselves standing in a slightly sketchier inn, who's owners apparently had no qualms about their guests if they were willing to pay. The woman at the front desk exchanged coins for a key and candle with an abnormally large smile on her face,

"Here you go!" she said as she placed the key in Zuko's palm and the candle in Sian's.

"Er," he began, "we wanted two rooms."

"What for?" the woman asked, as her smile grew bigger, "we're all full anyway."

_Bullshit_, Sian thought as she realized what the woman's gargantuan smile was for. Apparently, Zuko had come to the same realization as her, because his visible eye widened in horror.

"N-no," he stammered, "That's not what—"

He was cut off by the woman shooing them away from her desk with a loud, "Now you kids have fun!"

So they'd have to deal with sharing a room. _No problem_, they both thought. They'd shared an apartment before in Ba Sing Se, how different could this be?

Apparently, quite.

Zuko turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, revealing a dimly lit room. Sian followed, wielding the candle, casting a dim light onto everything. Small bathroom, desk with a set of spark rocks on top of it, and a queen sized bed. Zuko closed the door behind her, and Sian lit the lamps in the room with a few quick jets of fire, leaving the original candle provided on the desk, useless.

"Why is there only one bed?" Zuko asked, apparently confounded by the situation.

Sian walked past him, and sat on it, feeling herself sink into the worn mattress. "What do you think? They probably have kids eloping here all the time, Dum-Dum."

He bristled at the sound of Azula's nickname for him. _Eloping_, Zuko cringed at both the thought of the woman at the front desk with her horrifying smile and what she probably thought what he and Sian were doing. "Well, I'm not sleeping on the floor."

"Fine then," she said unbothered as she examined the dirt caked nails on her still shackled left hand, "I'll sleep in the bathtub, if you give me all the pillows except for one."

Zuko nodded, "Okay," and removed the scroll from his belt and placed it on the table next to the candle and spark rocks, "then I get first bath." He said as he entered the bathroom.

"How about ladies first?" she called, lying back on the mattress. _Might as well enjoy it while I can,_ she thought. After days of sleeping on a thin futon or the hard dirt ground, this was almost equal to heaven.

"How about chivalry is dead?" Zuko called over the sound of running water.

Sian chuckled to herself, _some prince._ She turned to face the window, noting that the sun was just above the horizon. With the tension ebbing itself from her body, and the sound of swishing water in the background, she let her eyes drift closed.

Her half sleep was interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening and the arrival of Zuko with his shirt in one hand and his scar fully visible. "It's all yours, but you'll have to heat the water yourself." He said as he tossed his shirt on the bed next to her.

Sian stood up and made her way towards the bathroom. Once inside, she was pleased to note that Zuko had surprisingly cleaned up his dirty clothes, and left her a towel. How courteous. As Sian passed the mirror, she caught sight of her reflection, which she hadn't seen for _weeks_. There were no mirrors in prison. She had almost forgotten what she looked like. Raising an eyebrow at her reflection and plucking the stick out of her hair, she took in the wild mane of long, tangled black hair that looked as if it had been tied in knots, the once pale skin burnt to an angry reddish color and peeling like a lizard-snake, with dirt stubbornly clinging to it.

Sian stripped out of her oh-so-comfortable-and-clean prison garb, and ran the bath water, realizing that Zuko was right, and it was nothing short of freezing. As the tub filled, Sian placed a filthy hand in the water and exhaled, changing the temperature to somewhere below scalding. Stepping in, she resolved in using the cheap, jasmine scented hotel soap to scrub her skin and remove all the caked in dirt, and some of the peeling skin as well. She also washed her hair properly for the first time in a while—submerging her head and scrubbing the locks furiously with soap. By the time she was done, she felt like a newborn baby, just crawling out of the womb. The only thing that was missing was a razor. To kill herself with? Not yet, but she really did need to shave. Examining the rest of her body in the mirror, she questioned how easily a person could get to look so horrible.

Self-esteem at an all time low, she dressed back in her wrappings and dirty prison garb- there would be no comfortable and silky sleeping robe that night, she grabbed the half empty toothpaste container by the sink, and grabbed the toothbrush, that had probably been used by Zuko, however, at this point she really didn't care. Brushing her teeth and hair, Sian headed back into the now dark main bedroom, to find an asleep Zuko sprawled on the bed, clutching a pillow to his chest. Retrieving the other three pillows—and he blanket, since he obviously wasn't using it, and retreated back to her bathroom sanctuary, where she lined the inside of the tub with a towel to absorb the water, placed the pillows and blanket in, and finally, herself. _It's surprisingly comfortable, for a bathtub_, she thought, but even those thoughts melted away as she fell asleep.

* * *

…

"Mother_fucker_!"

Zuko was jolted awake by the piercing curse that echoed from the bathroom. The first thing he noticed was that it was still dark outside, nowhere near sunrise. The second thing he noticed was the smell of burning insect. He frowned as he saw Sian slam the bathroom door shut, clutching a pillow to her chest, and looking like someone had tried to assassinate her while sleeping.

"Wha' happened?" Zuko asked, his voice slurred by sleep, as he squinted in her direction.

"Suffering _Sages_, I _hate_ spider-roaches." She said, her voice several octaves higher than usual.

"Did you kill it?" He asked.

"Did I kill it," she snorted, "Of _course_ I killed it, idiot!"

"So _go back to sleep_," Zuko said, cranky from being risen at such an ungodly hour.

"I can't!" she whisper shouted, "What if it has babies!"

"So sleep here with me then!" he hissed, ignoring the flush that started to creep up her sun burnt face, "Just shut up and let me _sleep_!" Zuko rolled over, his back to her, as he felt the mattress give on the opposite side, and she curled up next to him, basking in the heat that was rolling off his body in waves.

"Just know that if you kick me, you're getting smothered in your sleep." She said.

* * *

**AN: **Reviews make me write faster ;) I hope y'all like it. What do you think of Sian? Also, do any of you like pineapples?

* * *

**(Non "canon") ****Character Interviews!**

**Interviewer: Hello everyone, please welcome Zuko and Sian!**

**Interviewer: First of all, tell us a bit about yourselves!**

**Zuko: **Hello, Zuko here.

**Sian: **Hi, my name is Sian and I'm a mercenary- ER, I MEAN, SOLDIER, but not really anymore because I got arrested for treason and illegal whanot, but Zuko here busted me out of prison, well not really me, I just kind of tagged along, and we've winded up on some stupid bit of the Earth Kingdom and hiding from the butthurt firelord and officials and stuff, so we're trying to get back to wherever Zuko was before all this happened, because apparently he joined Team Avatar and is all good now, so we're trying to get out of this mess together, 'cuz we go waay back because him and his uncle hired me to hunt the avatar with them, but it's really hard to get back to Jabooklaflack, or wherever Zuko last was, because bad things keep happening to us but it's okay because we have our firebending and White Lotus friends, and badass sneaky skills so... yeah... it's all good...

**-crickets-**

**Interviewer: **So tell us, you two, what do you do for a living?

**Zuko: **I teach fireben-

**Sian: **I already told you what I do for a living, so I'm just gonna talk about Zuko here, 'kay? He's like, completely bipolar nowadays because apparently he has no more inner turmoil, and he's a REAL BANISHED PRINCE, you know, like he's been completely screwed over by his crazy sister and jerkbender dad, anyway, it's kind of cool because everyone thinks he's so badass with his scar, but he's really just super serious and has no sense of humor, and he's a really big pushover, so yeah, and he has this evil side which I secretly call Lei, but he doesn't know that so I don't think I should mention that, anyway, he's my ticket out of here and yeah, apparently he teaches firebending to the avatar so...

**Zuko: **Shut up, Sian! Don't give out my personal information so freely!

**Interviewer: Are you two benders? Do you have any other skills worth sharing?**

**Sian: **Firebending _mercenary_.

**Zuko: **Firebending _bandit_, er... Blue Spirt at least.

**Interviewer: What are your opinions of eachother?**

**Zuko: **SHE IS A _CHILD. _NO MANNERS, NO QUIET, NO FINESSE, NOTHING. SHE IS LOUD, OBNOXIOUS AND EXTREMELY IRRITABLE.

**Sian: **HE'S AWFUL. HE'S GONNA HAVE GRAY HAIR BY THE TIME HE'S THIRTY WITH ALL THE WORRYING HE DOES ABOUT EVERYTHING.

**Interviewer: Do you have habits? Good or bad?**

**Sian: **Er, well I have pretty shitty language or something. And I'm pretty loud. And sometimes I forget how to bend fire, and rely on lightning too much, but I don't really think that's a habit, I think it has something to do with spiritu-

**Zuko: **Well, I wake up at sunrise and make fresh tea every morning. I also meditate and train-

**Sian: **Half _naked_.

**Interviewer: Are either of you single? Attatched? Do you have your eye on anyone?**

**Zuko:** Er, well... my current lifestyle...doesn't exactly...allow such frivolities...but sometimes...no, nevermind.

**Sian:** HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH OH, AGNI, HAHAHAHAHAH WHAT IF.

**Interviewer: Second to last question- Who is your enemy, or do you not have one at all?**

**Zuko: **My father, my sister, the Fire Nation- whoever is disrupting the balance of the world.

**Sian:** Whoever's assigned to me next. Or recognizes me off of a wanted poster.

**Interviewer: Last question- would you two hug it out right here and now?**

**Zuko: **No.

**Sian: **No.

* * *

Haha, thanks for reading, and please make sure to review! Hoped you liked Sian's obnoxiousness and Zuko's... idk in the interview thingy, lol.


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